His admission of marrying everyone came under the condition of explaining something else. Aside from Poppy and Toph who were only starting to understand his situation, many others did feel a bit relieved. At least, he'd decided to tell them. The 'when' of the matter could be discussed in time, too.

Toph had wholly refused his marriage proposal but much to her chagrin...  he hadn't proposed to her at all. The confused girl was soon made to understand by the condescending Katara that a girl is only considered betrothed once her man carves a beautiful blue pendant to be tied around her neck...

And then the condescending waterbender was forced to come to a realization when Yue extended the lore by saying that her side of culture always married within the Spirit Oasis. Michi's side also had their elaborate conditions. And so did Poppy's and Toph's culture...

Of them all, probably Suki had the simplest of it. Just ask the girl, perform a simple ceremony, and consummate the marriage. Admittedly, Nik didn't just want the last step but the whole package.

By the end of it... both Katara and Toph were left a little confused. But they had spirit, Nik gave them that much.

---

Their search for Aang was proving to be a little fruitless. But they truly didn't have any reason to return to Omashu. In fact, a lengthy chat with the prisoners before had allowed Katara to understand that the greatest concentration of such prisons was in either Ba Sing Se or the Fire Nation itself, which made sense.

Ba Sing Se was a Kingdom in its own right and the capital of the Earth Kingdom mainland. Not only that, it was the largest nation with too many unchecked corners, and the Dai Li— the organization behind the more recent attempts at assaulting the minds of children— originated from Ba Sing Se. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation would naturally have a few prisons of the kind even when the current Fire Lord is stated to be more peaceful.

So, for Katara, it was either Ba Sing Se or the Fire Nation.

Yet... Nik had plans for a diversion.

Back in the Northern Water Tribe, Nik had met a strange fox who had given him a map before disappearing. A spirit, no doubt. The location of the map wasn't known before but the map he had taken from Omashu revealed that the location of the said mysterious map was closer to them than they thought.

They could either keep moving north or take a turn to clear this mystery once and for all. Unlike the Great Swamp between Omashu and Gaoling that he avoided again because of those sketchy calls, Nik thought of going to this location...

If it was an elaborate trap then... Nik still wouldn't feel too much of a fool for falling for a map with a mysterious vibe to it.

But this wasn't a location they could go unprepared.

So, steering their Ostrich Horse to the nearest dusty village with growing cactuses and creaking doors due to the dry and hot desert gale, only Nik and Toph found themselves welcomed by scrutinizing yet cautious gazes of the tanned villagers.

They were still on their Ostrich Horse. Due to the high temperature, not many chose to accompany Nik on this tangent. If there were troubles and they were called out, sure, they would help out but travel into the desert wasn't exactly their dream vacation.

Things would be different if they had no place to chill. They would have put a compromise and agreed to move with him... but they had a vast manor all for themselves. They had sweet fruit and delicious rations...

Only someone like Toph would really agree to leave the confines of such pleasure and get battered by the cruel sun.

"Nik... I can feel it again," Toph pouted as the Ostrich Horse trotted slowly. Their moving bodies caused his healthy erection to rub against Toph's butt as she, too, leaned back onto him while feeling his arms crossed around her waist to hold the reigns of the horse. He would have kept it under control if he couldn't have felt the stubborn anal plug pressed against Toph's ass. After all, she'd... taken this particular training with great enthusiasm. Her plugs getting larger by the day, too.

And despite her pout, the heavy flush over her cheeks suggested her intentions otherwise... but even Nik didn't feel like going through something as intense as fucking Toph while planning to travel into the desert that very day.

Indeed, the map he had gotten from that fox led to a region within the Earth Kingdom known as the Si Wong Desert but to travel the desert without preparations would be foolish.

"I-I suppose we can train a while," Toph hummed thoughtfully as Nik looked around, ignoring the obvious, "Yeah, there's sand all around. Maybe we bend it. That will be a nice change of pace."

She clicked her tongue. Toph, of course, wouldn't believe that Nik of all people would miss the obvious signals she'd been sending for a while since even his body was responding by constantly craving for her butt BUT she found this situation all the more deplorable. Of course, not wanting to resort to stating her desperate intentions, she stayed silent and they eventually parked their Ostrich Horse near a dilapidated tavern before bringing in the Ostrich Horse.

Though Nik's erection revolted against his control, just like how his stomach would at times, Nik found Toph seeking out his hand as he held it soon enough.

"The ground should be pretty hot. Are you alright without any sandals?"

"It isn't the temperature," Toph scrunched her brows and remarked, "The sand... is making things harder to see. It's all fuzzy."

"Well, I'll make sure not to lose you then," he shrugged.

Toph nodded without any notable reaction and they entered the tavern. Multiple gazes landed on them with no less than a few being full of ill intents as they saw a youth and what could be considered a barefooted doll with him. Nik's gaze landed on the men wearing multiple layers of clothing that even wrapped their heads and thick goggles around their necks. Just as he was about to approach them, he struck behind him with a burst of flames stretching from his fists.

As the flames flickered, Nik narrowed his eyes at the tall and lanky dark-skinned man wearing a bug-shaped hat as his outstretched hand towards Toph had come to a halt while she still looked around curiously.

Nik didn't want any problems and something told him Toph would have done the man much worse than a simple warning like Nik.

"Buzz off," Nik scoffed as he walked towards the counter with Toph once again.

His actions had been useless of course.

The next second, a blunt spike of sorts rose from the ground and smashed into the still frozen man who'd wanted to 'assess' Toph and sent him crashing into the nearby tables as men quickly retreated with strange expressions.

If Toph was annoyed to have Nik act in her stead, she didn't let it show and squeezed his hand tighter, walking a little closer to him this time.

"What ya want, son?" The old man behind the counter finally questioned as Nik sat down. Before he could help Toph to her seat, she found a better one by patting around his lap and then pushing herself upon his lap. If it hadn't been remarkably clear before... then the sensation of something solid between her, forcefully spreading her cheeks and rubbing against his thighs was... quite sensational.

Clearing his throat as he could imagine Toph smirking with a blank gaze, he kept it concise, "A way into the desert."

"What are you looking for?" It wasn't the old man but one of the fully covered men sitting beside him.

"I'll know when I see it," Nik lied obviously. How the hell would he know what he was looking for? Well, it's probably a spirit but he wasn't about to admit it in a tavern full of suspicious bastards when one of them just tried to pick Toph up as if it was the most natural thing to do once seeing a girl.

It may be an inspirational method to pick girls up... but at least get a good lay of the opponent's strength first.

The other party hummed in response but his inquiry was otherwise met with no useful information.

Was the desert so exclusive?

Nik didn't think so.

Toph didn't either.

Before they could contemplate how to make the locals open up about the desert, they heard a loud shriek followed by distant rumbling.

"Shit, they're back!"

The first to leave were the men with many layers of clothing as they rushed out of the tavern while Nik quickly set Toph on the ground and walked out to check what was going on. For a second, he was amazed as these clothed men suddenly stood on a massive open platform with a sail hoisted about a mast, and the next second, they caused the sand to swirl into a storm and controlled it to leave the area. They weren't the only ones. The beetle-headed men, not only from the tavern but all around the village suddenly boarded their carriages towed by giant beetles and disappeared into the distance.

Not far from here, however, a giant mechanical monstrosity was slowly moving their way.

"Do you see all this?" Nik mumbled in amazement.

"No, I'm blind," Toph remarked in her granted sassiness as Nik delivered a swift spank at that, making her butt clench tighter against the earthen plug bullying her butt at the moment.

"Let's leave... didn't know the fire nation would be here..." Nik sighed.

"Leave? We just got here! And yeah, I 'saw' them sandbending... it was fuzzy. I love it!" Toph grinned and looked up at him, "We should stay and have some fun now that it's just you and me."

Nik immediately looked a bit tired. Toph and he had different definitions of fun and ironically, both of their fun-inducing activities served to tire the other one out.

"Really?"

"Yeah! We can question them, too... oh, before that... give me a few minutes. I can't fight like that..." She blushed slightly. Had she known there would be firebenders to fight, she wouldn't have ended up plugging herself up.

Nik looked thoughtful before a grin plastered over his lips. He did lead her to a spot hidden away from the public eye but the next second, they disappeared.

---

By evening, in the desert village on the outskirts of the Si Wong Desert, a rather chipper youth and a quiet girl walked hand-in-hand, questioning firebenders, fighting them off, and even taking the giant mechanical vehicle for themselves after learning how to operate it.

The girl wasn't a traditional sandbender by any means and was slightly clumsy about it, too. But the more she fought, the better she became. It was uncanny.

Soon, as the village constantly being harassed by the firebenders was finally free if only temporary, Nik and Toph found themselves sitting on top of a large metallic tank of sorts that was devised by the Fire Nation to traverse the desert specifically. Another thing in the long list of resources plundered by Nik.

"Say, Nik, what should I be looking at right now?" Toph questioned. She felt quite comforted by his embrace as she made his arm her pillow and his body the necessary source of warmth in the gradually chilling desert.

Nik silently looked at the starry night sky and smiled, "Stars... but you probably can't see it."

"How're they like?" Toph questioned.

"They are tiny bright things in a sky full of darkness..."

"Huh, then maybe I don't need to see them after all," Toph smiled and stood up. "Help me get down..." She then turned back to look at Nik who shrugged and helped her down from the roof of the vehicle.

As Toph stood on the cold sand, she sunk into silence while her toes began to curl and uncurl.

"I was wrong," she hummed. Right now, Toph's vision of darkness was filled with tiny, almost minuscule points of light that began to take a wider shape of a loose land all around her, "It isn't fuzzy... it was just too much to take in. I haven't ever tried to see the earth as something so tiny..."

A grain of sand moved in front of her and then more and more began to slowly sway about.

"It's so light to bend them but it's harder in other ways... and all I see right now is darkness brightened by tiny bright things." With that, she exhaled deeply and the sand around her began to collect with each other and harden into a rocky substance before she clenched her teeth and snarled, "You said that Bumi guy could also bend Lava?"

"Yep," Nik leaned against the metal monstrosity and watched Toph enjoy herself with a smile. If he could, he would want Toph to see with her eyes, too. The colors can be amazing. But, it was gratifying seeing someone enjoy their time with what they have.

*Ssss*

His thoughts came to an abrupt pause when the rocky platform had a tiny spot that had begun to bubble dangerously as golden red lava began to birth from the center, "All I have to do was start with a grain... hahahaha! I rule!" She grinned before punching up as the lava flew high.

But then she sighed and cooled it off.

"Woah..." she heard him speak and her smile turned wider.

"It's cool and all but this is for you kids who can see with eyes," Toph shrugged as she began making her way towards Nik, "I can't stand on Lava, right? Bending it without eyes is kind of useless for me so just keep on practicing it with a grain of sand before moving to larger and larger boulders."

As they entered the tank, Toph questioned, "Do you think we can rest out here tonight? I'm not feeling like sleeping in my room."

"Why ask me?" Nik snickered, "Didn't you say you'll do whatever you wanna do?"

She scoffed. As if she had been able to do everything she wanted to do... but Nik always did provide a reasonable distraction...

"And you'll be here?" She questioned.

"Well, not sleeping. Training, probably." Nik shrugged. After seeing Toph finally bending Lava, Nik was left wanting more from himself. So, instead of airbending and waterbending, he planned to practice earthbending and extend it to trying to learn Seismic Senses that Toph had mastered for the longest period before going for sand and finally lava bending. Needless to say, it would be a long night for him.

"Night then," she yawned, finding herself slumbering quick enough while Nik showed himself out and continued to train.

As he did so, the recollection of Toph finally bending Lava appeared in his mind as he seemed hung on her bitter smile. She had been excited about lavabending for quite some time but seeing Toph of ALL people actually feel disheartened like this made Nik... feel a pang of heartache.

'She certainly hears the earth... but should she stay like this forever?' He questioned and closed his eyes.

As it happens to be, Toph isn't the only one who would experience something new tonight.

'Stars in the night sky... start by a grain and then move to grander things...'

In the darkness, Nik saw a tiny dot of purplish light right in front of his foot.

Then another.

And then another.

As if a dark sky suddenly infiltrated by countless stars, Nik's closed eyes began to view the shape of a loose land as he clenched his hands in excitement, causing these stars to slowly sway around him.

He could look... everywhere!

Toph truly was a great teacher. Although she'd said to just practice on it, it was her words themselves that allowed Nik to finally acquire the ability to see without his eyes.

And instantly, as greedy as ever he had come to be, Nik couldn't help but think if this technique was also applicable to other elements, notably, water and airbending. But he could find that out later. Right now, he wanted to focus on earthbending. After all, they are in a desert... it seemed right to make use of all that sand for training.

***

"I can't believe mom actually left with Mai!" Tom-Tom looked pleasantly surprised. He had been worried that the return to Omashu would be the day when he is pulled off from the team but surprisingly, his mom wasn't there.

Rena had a strange expression... so did Sokka and Aang. Sun and Tom-Tom might not know of certain things but Mai's outburst during the banquet in the Northern Water Tribe had revealed Nik's... connections with the boy's mother. So, it was more likely that Michi left with Nik and Mai tagged along.

Of course, almost three months had passed since they had seen each other so nobody could say for sure how much they would have changed.

"I can't believe that they, too, broke through another secret prison," Sokka mumbled, "And stole the Phoenix King's statue, the mayor's wife and daughter..."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Aang suddenly chuckled humorously as he recalled Ukano.

"It's a bad time to be a mayor, that's easy enough to understand," Rena smirked.

"Why? What's going on?" Sun questioned.

"Oh, nothing... just don't be an evil mayor in the future and you'll be alright," Sokka shrugged.

"So, Aang, where are we going?"

Others looked at the boy as he smiled, "Well... I used to go to this place when everyone was around. It's called the Misty Palm Oasis and it has a refreshing spring in the middle of the town despite there being a desert! I'm telling you guys, it's amazing!"

"If it isn't ruined by fire nation already," Sokka pouted, "Do we even need a vacation?"

"Yes!" Tom and Rena stated in a unified tone.

"But why a desert? The sand will probably be irritating and it would get everywhere!"

"I don't mind a vacation. We have been constantly finding fire nation troops to lay ruin on or solve the next village's problem. It would be good to just relax." Sun hummed.

"Alright, every one of you and I have a different meaning of relaxation. Instead of massage, you want to go to some dinky town on the edge of a desert?"

Others looked at him and Aang spoke again, "But it has a giant cold spring with a giant iceberg in the middle of it... don't you want to see that?"

"I'm from the Water Tribe! I'm tired of icebergs!" Sokka groaned.

"How about we go get a massage next time?" Rena smiled and poked his cheek as he deflated, "Fine... just don't come to me when I ruin your vacation by whining all the time."

Others thinned their lips... after all, this was a very real possibility.

***

Shout out to Ethen McConnell-Siebuhr!

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